Antonio Stradivari (1644 - 1737) was an Italian maker of violins. His instruments are regarded as amongst the finest stringed instruments ever created, are highly prized, and still played by professionals today.

His violins are revered today because of the uniqueness of their tone, so highly revered in fact that on May 16, 2006, Christie’s auctioned a Stradivarius called “The Hammer” for a record US$3,544,000. It is the most paid at public auction for any musical instrument

However, it was not truly understood how his violins obtained this uniqueness, it was just generally accepted that there was something about the wood or wood glue that set these instruments on an entirely different level than anyone else’s.

Unknown until now, or at least part of the puzzle is finally in place. Dr. Joseph Nagyvary made some bold claims in the 1970’s with his theory but was ridiculed by his collegues. He made it his life’s work over these last 30 years to prove his theory. He finally has.

Read about his story and what he has discovered on ScienceDaily.

There’s an interesting article by Raymond Chen on Technet; it’s mostly interesting trivia and backstory explaining some of the commonly asked questions about folder names in Windows.

For instance, why is it ‘Program Files’ instead of ‘Programs’? And why were the docs and settings moved out of the Windows folder into its own ‘Documents and Settings’ root folder, and why was the Ampersand (’&') removed from ‘Documents & Settings’?

If you’re interested in more like this, check out Raymond’s blog. He’s a wealth of knowledge with Windows history.

Slate explains why “You can’t get ipods at a discount“.

This is a very thought-provoking article, not so much because it relates to Apple and the iPod, but goes into some of the interesting details of marketing and advertising that enable me to understand some of the influences at play behind the scenes when I’m making a purchase.

Here’s an example where the 8GB iPod nano costs $250 everywhere while prices for most other electronics like this Sony Digital Camcorder fluctuate wildly giving the buyer a better deal ’somewhere else’.

The author sets it up by explaining away some of the mystery to how retailers advertise and set prices through ‘price dispersion‘ and explains Apple’s “accepted, if controversial, tactic, a retail strategy called minimum advertised price, to discourage resellers from discounting“.

[This is for you tech geeks, a condensed description of ‘The Odyssey’ in just a few paragraphs :-)].

The Odyssey is one of two Greek epic poems written by Homer. I found an excellent interactive map of Odysseus’ journey to supplement the story.

Homer’s epic poem ‘The Odyssey’ tells of the travels of Ulysses, King of Ithaca and hero of the Trojan War. Following the epic ten-year war, Ulysses wandered for a further ten years, suffering many hardships and adventures in his quest to reach home.

Ulysses and his crew narrowly escaped being eaten by the giant one-eyed Cyclops Polyphemus, by blinding him. Polyphemus’ father, the sea-god Poseidon subsequently took revenge on Ulysses by creating storms to send him off course. Following one of these storms Ulysses was shipwrecked on the island of Calypso, having lost all his crew. Calypso fell in love with Ulysses and kept him with her for many years, though he yearned for home. The gods finally persuaded the reluctant Calypso to let him go, and she gave him wood for a raft and provisions.

When he finally reached Ithaca, Ulysses found his palace overrun with suitors for his wife Penelope. He disguised himself as a beggar and with the help of his son Telemachus suggested an archery contest to win Penelope’s hand. Ulysses’ bow was used, which only he could string, and he won the contest. He then revealed his true identity, had all the doors to the palace locked, and slaughtered all the suitors.

(above: bust of Homer)

BG3 is not Battlestar Galactica season 3 (that’s ‘BSG3′, duh), we all know it’s on hiatus in its mid season break. I’m referring to the “Beauty and the Geek 3” reality show is back Jan 3 for probably another 7 episodes. You can see some of the previews and interviews. I’m rooting for the kid that recited Pi for over 2 hours as part of his audition tape.

If you’re not familiar with the show, here’s the deal -

This cycle will remain true to the series’ format - pairing eight gorgeous but academically impaired women with eight brilliant but socially challenged men to test intellect and social skills - for a chance to win a $250,000 grand prize. Among the challenges, the guys will be required to deliver a stand-up routine in a comedy club and test their artistic abilities when they sketch a drawing of a nude model. The women will brush up on current events for a television newscast and research history books when they act as museum tour guides.
During each competition, the geek tries to pass brains on to the beauty, while the beauty helps the geek overcome social awkwardness. At the end of the eight-week series, each contestant comes out a changed person, and one couple will walk away with a quarter of a million dollars.